Year: 2022
Total Time: 48.38
Label: Napalm Records
The “honest giant” and remarkable Finnish artist Tuomas Saukkonen returns dynamically to the Melodic – and not only – Death Metal scene with WOLFHEART and their 6th full length album entitled “King Of The North”. A band that within a few years managed to grow up, going from its self-financed first release to a record deal and currently to the third album with Napalm Records!
“King Of The North” gives us more than the band’s trademark, Melodic Death Metal. Ιn parts, the album combines Thrash Metal grooves reaching even to Black Metal outbursts! While the previous release “Wolves Of Karelia” created an aggressive-dark atmosphere, the new album is based on the power and the many new elements that it contains compared to the past!
Vocalist, guitarist and main composer Tuomas Saukkonen returns dynamically with his characteristic guitar playing style and his powerful Death Metal growls. Vangelis Karzis is the perfect complement to Tuomas on guitars (mainly on lead) performing some clean vocals in parts. Joonas Kauppinen’s powerful and staccato drumming, is now part of the band’s DNA. The same happens with Lauri Silvonen’s excellent bass sound. As for the orchestral/symphonic parts of Saku Moilanen, there are no words to describe! In addition, some special guests make an appearance on this album. KILLSWITCH ENGAGE’s Jesse Leach contributes vocals on “Ancestor”, while NILE’s Karl Sanders joins in on “Cold Flame”.
As mentioned before, the band has added more different elements than ever before in the songwriting. From time to time backing vocals are reminiscent of THERION, with the clean vocals on “Skyforger” being the proof of that. The overall flow of the album is well crafted, more organic than “Wolves Of Karelia”. Songs like “The King” and ‘Headstones”, add some variety to the rhythm, which makes “King Of The North” more interesting and unpredictable. All nine tracks on the album are high quality, adrenaline-filled, with “Knell” being another standout song.
WOLFHEART’s synthesizing ability has reached new high levels with this release. This album keeps the flame of Melodic Death Metal alive, making us expect even better things in the future. We should also highlight the amazing work of our very own Nikos Stavridakis and Vision Black on the cover artwork and booklet design!
Rating: 8/10
Editor: Dimitris Argyrakis
Related Link: WOLFHEART – Official Page
